Adaptation to Coastal Erosionin Vulnerable Areas, is a coastal protection activity
implemented in Senegal by the Centre de Suivi Ecologique (CSE). The activity is to protect the
coastal areas of Rufisque, Saly and Joal – all just outside Senegal’s capital Dakar
– against further erosion caused by sea level rise and storm surges.

The activity is one of the first of its type to receiving funding from the Adaptation Fund,
which finances projects and programmes that help developing countries to adapt to the negative
effects of climate change. Started in January 2011, the activity aims to reduce exposure to
climate change impacts on the coast by protecting houses and coastal infrastructure - such as
fishing docks, fish processing plants and even tourism - that are threatened by erosion and
salt-water intrusion. Some measures the activity introduced include anti-salt dikes to mitigate
salination of agricultural lands and sea defences to prevent coastal erosion.

The activity also incorporates development of coastal management policies and regulations.Senegal has
a high incidence of climate-sensitive economic activities, including farming and other businesses.
This is due to the high population density and the concentration of almost all economic activities in
coastal areas. In Saly, for instance, within a span of just four years, the beach has been entirely
submerged, prompting the largest tour operator to depart. The loss of tourism revenue has lead to a
decline in household incomes as well as livelihood opportunities for many local craftsmen.

Coastal urban areas are threatened by rising sea levels and increased oceanic activity. Between the
coastal urban zone and the Atlantic Ocean, the coastline is a thin strip that increasing coastal
forces are quickly eroding. The beach where the Senegalese national soccer team practiced some years
ago no longer exists. A hotel owner, who until recently used to offer “a hotel and a
beach,” now can only sell “a hotel and an ocean”.

Adaptation to Coastal Erosionin Vulnerable Areas is prioritized, implemented, and
executed by local institutions and is strongly linked to the communities themselves, particularly to
women. Two of the activity’s implementing entities are local NGOs - Green Senegal, and
Dynamiques-Femmes, an association of women and youth. The involvement of local communities is
strongly leveraged to compliment the infrastructure-based outputs with training and awareness-raising
programmes.

Mitigation / Adaptation

Social and environmental benefits

Potential for scaling-up and replication

Approximately 812 awareness-raising sessions have been organized in the two years since the
activity began, which targeted various segments of the community. Training sessions have also
been organized, focussing on organizational development, adaptation to coastal
erosion and the impact of climate change on the fishing community. Around 500 people
have been trained to date, including include women's associations, local elected
officials, and neighbourhood committees. As a result, a network of coastal actors has been
established, where community members better understand the impacts of climate change
and are better able to face them.

In addition, 104 radio programs were produced. The programmes dealt with issues such as
climate change and coastal erosion.

In Joal, a more than 3,000 meter anti-salt dike has been built, which will help reclaim 17
hectares of rice farm land. The drying area for fishery products was also
rehabilitated. Its management has been entrusted to a local committee composed of women fish
sellers with the support of the municipality, benefiting some 100 women. The facility will
also help protect houses, hotels and fish processing areas from storm
surges.

Similarly, the 730 metre dike in Rufisque protects the neighbourhood of Thiawelene from storm
surges.

In Joal, improved fish processing will help reduce the pressure on natural resources in the
area, through a reduction in the amount of fuel wood. The building of the anti-salt dyke
will enhance food security, with improved coverage and yields of rice fields. It is expected
that more than 5,000 producers will benefit from this infrastructure. Finally, the
rehabilitation of the fish unloading dock will maintain the livelihoods of hundreds of
households, thus reducing the vulnerability of a community largely relying in this major
economic
activity.

In Rufisque, the construction of a seawall along the coastline, will protect houses that are
being threatened by coastal erosion, a problem which effects the town's historical heritage
(as many colonial houses have been effected). As waste water management is also a problem, the
NGO Green Senegal is raising awareness of residents on best practices for waste water
management.

The preservation of hotels and other tourist infrastructures, as well as the fishing dock in
Saly will help maintain at least three thousand (3,000) direct jobs and nine thousand (9,000)
indirect, generated by tourism and fishing.

The activity has received considerable attention from both developing and developed countries,
and from different types of stakeholder groups. It is already being replicated in other
countries, thereby leading to its scaling up world-wide. Some of the first projects to
replicate the modality include an agriculture sector project in Uruguay, a multi-sector
programme in Jamaica and the development of a coastal development project in Benin. The
implementing agency of the project has been repeatedly invited to present their experience in
adaptation related workshops in neighbouring countries, as well as farther afield, such as
Ethiopia, South Africa, Thailand and Philippines.

The direct access modality gives countries project ownership and has an enormous potential for
global transformational change in how adaptation is implemented world-wide, cost-effectively
and in a country-driven manner, thereby bringing about a sustainable long-term impact. In the
case of Senegal, this has turned out to reduce administrative costs. The low administrative
costs of the project directly translate into making better use of allocated funds to achieve
the scale of results. The fact that the level of direct international supervision is replaced
with supervision by a national agency that went through a rigorous accreditation process using
internationally accepted standards, has catalyzed a change in institutional dynamic by reducing
distance between levels of hierarchy. This has greatly facilitated the collaboration of various
types of governmental and non-governmental organizations, including a sizable community of
artisanal fishermen and fish-processing industries, tourism operators, agricultural producers
on the inland side of the coastal zone, a women’s group and an environmental non
governmental
organization.